Yelena Kondulainen

Yelena Ivanovna Kondulainen (Russian: Елена Ивановна Кондулайнен; a.k.a. Elena Kondulaynen, e.g. on IMDb;[2] born 9 April 1958 as Lembi Tutuvilhu Kontulainen[1]) is a Russian actress, Honored Artist of the Russian Federation (2002),[3] and pop singer.

Yelena Kondulainen.
(2011).
Born
Finnish: Lembi Tutuvilhu Kontulainen,[1]

(1958-04-09) 9 April 1958,
Toksovo, Leningrad Oblast, RSFSR, USSR.
OccupationActress, pop singer.
Years active1979–present.
Awards (2002).

Life and career

Kondulainen comes from a family of Ingrian Finns. In 1983, she graduated from the Saint Petersburg State Theatre Arts Academy (course of Georgy Tovstonogov). She has starred in more than 40 movies.

When Kondulainen began to receive fame with the daring movie roles she played in the late 1980s, her looks were often compared – for instance – to those of Marilyn Monroe and Marlene Dietrich. Soon, she began to be referred to as the first-ever sex symbol of the Soviet Union (1922–1991), and following her performance in the 1990 movie 100 Days Before the Command also the first sex symbol in the Russian Federation (a.k.a. Russia; founded in 1991).[4][5]

In 1993, Kondulainen entered politics, but only for a brief time, to help promote a movement and political party in Russia known as Free Love. Kondulainen composes music for her own songs and writes lyrics for them. She has also continuously been active in various theater arts productions. Her recent acting roles have included e.g. one in which she plays Catherine the Great (a.k.a. Catherine II).

References
  1. Интервью в эфире Echo of Moscow
  2. Yelena Kondulainen as Elena Kondulaynen on IMDb
  3. Почётное звание присвоено указом президента № 116 от 31 января 2002 года Archived 2009-05-31 at the Wayback Machine
  4. An interview with Yelena Kondulainen by Arja Paananen in Moscow, published in the largest Finnish daily, Iltasanomat, on 6 October 2018 (in Finnish). A quote from the article: "Kun Kondulainen alkoi kerätä kuuluisuutta 1980-luvun lopussa rohkeilla elokuvarooleillaan, hänen ulkonäköjään verrattiin usein esimerkiksi Marilyn Monroeen tai Marlene Dietrichiin. Pian häntä ryhdyttiinkin kutsumaan ”Neuvostoliiton ensimmäiseksi seksisymboliksi”."
  5. Елена Кондулайнен / Elena Kondulainen
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